A Second Chance
by Sylmarien
Summary: This is the story of Sara and Gaito after Mermaid Melody ends. It runs parallel to A Pearl Necklace. Sara and Gaito are given a second chance by Aqua Regina but on one condition.
1. Fresh Start

**Hey guys, this story is linked with my other mermaid melody fic 'A Pearl Necklace'. It runs parallel to it but is about Sara and Gaito not Lucia and Kaito. Enjoy and read the other one if you like this one **

Sara fell with Gaito, down into the black depths that had once been their home. Both their wounds were too great for them to live much longer, she knew that already yet as the darkness closed in strangely she wasn't scared. A great peace fell over her heart as she continued to sing, Gaito, lying on her lap sighed and closed his eyes, drifting off on the waves of her melody.

***Sara. Gaito.*** the voice came from all around them, as if the sea itself was singing. ***If you will accept it, I have a task for you.***

A bright light appeared in the depths where they had fallen and Aqua Regina appeared in front of them. ***You two have been given more than your fair share of suffering as children of an unbalanced world. Now that world is healed and I am here to offer you a second chance. To continue to live your lives together in the human world as guardians of my successor and the other remaining heir of the ****Panthalassa**** Clan.***

"You would do that for one who has wronged you so much?" Gaito asked. Beyond being surprised by anything the mermaids could or would do he was still touched by the goddess' kindness.

Aqua Regina shook her head and smiled, ***It was I who wronged you. I, who used up all my power to seal the evil of the ****Panthalassa Clan and then had none to spare to take care of the ones who needed it most. Forgive me.***

"There is nothing to forgive." Sara took Gaito's hand in hers "We might never have met if not for you."

"Yes, that alone was worth everything that happened," Gaito agreed. He glanced at Sara who nodded, "If you will have us, we would be honoured to watch over Princess Lucia and my brother." He grinned, "Goodness knows my brother definitely needs it."

Sara laughed too, "Well, he's almost there Gaito, the dots are starting to connect."

"hmph," Gaito snorted, "If it was me I would have figured out who you were the moment you saved me the second time dear one. It's not like she hasn't given him clues. The only thing she hasn't done is transform in front of his face and even then I'm not sure if he'd figure it out."

Aqua Regina laughed ***Well I trust that you two might be able to help with that. Now, I will send you to the Human World. Be patient, everything has been made ready for you. You'll see when you get there.*** The tip of her staff burst into light and suddenly Sara and Gaito found themselves on a beach, the sphere of light they'd travelled in already fading away. Gravity hit them, as well as the severity of their wounds and they both collapsed onto the warm sand aware that although Aqua Regina had healed them of their most life-threatening injuries they were still hurt. Sara managed to shift over so that she was lying against Gaito, sharing his warmth. He curled a tired arm around her and sighed. "She could have at least put us in a bed," he grumbled.

***Don't worry, help will be coming shortly,* **Aqua Regina's voice echoed in their minds once more,** *I am sorry, but this is necessary in order for you to start your new lives. The people you meet here will take care of you and help you get back on your feet. They will also eventually give you the means to return to Lucia and Kaito again but until then I will give you the means to travel to them as I do in spirit and in dreams. You will be able to speak with and touch them but only for a short time. Once you meet them again, this will no longer be necessary. Farewell, and may your lives be joyous and full of brighter memories than those I gave you.***

As the sea goddess' voice faded into the night, Sara shifted closer to Gaito and waited. After some time she heard footsteps squelching through the sand, they stopped and a torchlight played over them, someone shouted, "Hey! I found more survivors! They look injured, can we get some blankets and stretchers!" The person knelt down beside them and gently touched her shoulder, "Hello there, I'm Takashi, don't worry you'll be taken to the hospital just as soon as we can get you into a vehicle. Are you well enough to stand?"

"I think so." Sara replied, "But where are we?"

Takashi smiled, "You must've got knocked around quite a bit huh, don't worry the hospital's real close. As to where we are, well we're in Hawaii."

"Oh, thank you."

Sara used Gaito's shoulder as leverage and slowly pushed herself up onto her knees. From there, with Takashi's help she got to her feet and then waited as he helped Gaito up too. Within minutes both she and Gaito had been cocooned in blankets, escorted to a car and were driving towards the hospital along with several others who were injured like them.

"What happened?" asked a young man whose was black and blue from head to toe and carefully cradled an arm twisted at an odd angle, clearly broken.

"Well as far as we can make out, this massive storm suddenly formed over the sea a few hours ago. The wind pushed the water in front of it as it moved towards land, creating a massive swell which hit the island and washed anyone who was on the beach or near it out to sea, kinda like a tsunami only not as big and way less deadly. The storm vanished almost as soon as it appeared though, so everything went back to normal in a hurry. Lucky for you and us, there weren't many people on the beach at the time the wave hit, only a few hard core surfers and their spectators and we've found most of them already." Takashi, glanced back and them and smiled, "From the looks of things you guys are the last ones."

Sara and Gaito shared guilty glances, it was their fault that all these people were hurt and it would be a lie to say that back then it hadn't been their intention. _Yes, but this isn't what we want now and we'll spend the rest of our lives making up for it._ Sara promised, _we've been given a second chance and we won't waste it._ Leaning her head on Gaito's shoulder she dozed until they got to the hospital. Once they got there she and Gaito were separated and hurried off to be examined and then put into beds with bandages and salve to rest.

Sara felt lonely without Gaito there, she'd only just got him back too. *I'm right here love,* she heard his voice and turned to look but no one was there. *Don't worry, I'm safely in bed like you. Apparently this is another ability Aqua Regina gave us. How thoughtful of her.*

*Gaito?* Sara thought tentatively. *How are you feeling?*

*Better than I was sweetheart. How about you?*

*I'm feeling better as well. So what now?* Sara relaxed back into her pillow, sitting up had taken almost all the energy she had.

*Well first we need to get healed up and then we'll take things from there. Aqua Regina said there would be someone to help us. We should keep an eye out for them.*

*Alright. Sleep well Gaito.*

*And you, good night Sara.

The next morning Sara woke to see a young girl sitting next to her bed. She was reading a book but looked up when she saw Sara move.

"You're awake are you? How do you feel?" she asked.

"Much better thank you." Sara replied. "And you are?"

The girl jumped to her feet and smiled. "My name is Miyako. Takashi, my brother was the one who found you on the beach last night. The hospital staff told us you and your friend said you were here alone and had nowhere to go. We'd be happy to have you at our place. There's lots of room."

"Oh, really? Thank you." Sara was a bit surprised by the girl's generosity. *Perhaps I have forgotten the kindness of strangers. Did you hear that dear?* she thought to Gaito.

*Yes Sara, as a matter of fact her brother Takashi is in here with me and just offered the same thing. I would hazard a guess that these two are the people who will guide us to our charges.*

Sara smiled. *I thought so too.*

"We would be happy to stay with you." She told Miyako, "and thank you for your kindness."

Miyako smiled, "Not a problem. Our house is so big it gets lonely sometimes being just brother and me. Having some more people around will make it much nicer. Oh the nurse said that if you're feeling up to it you can be discharged today. You weren't badly hurt, just shaken and a few cuts and bruises so if you want we can take you home after breakfast. My brother is keeping your friend company so don't worry about him."

"Again, thank you." Sara said, "Breakfast sounds lovely right now."

"Great! I'll let the nurse know."

As Miyako left Sara smiled at her cheerfulness, "Are all girls her age like that?" she wondered, thinking of Lucia and the other mermaid princesses. "I wish I could see how they're doing."

*We'll see them soon enough dear.* Gaito spoke into her mind. *I can't imagine my brother lasting very long without someone around to look out for him. Look at the job Lucia has trying to keep him out of trouble.*

Sara giggled. *Well you were the cause of most it dear and would have been just as much trouble if your positions were reversed.* she thought back.

*Nonsense.* Gaito scoffed. *If he were in my place he wouldn't even have captured _one_ princess let alone gathered them all together in one place. I _did_ almost succeed in my plans as I'm sure you'll recall.*

*That may be true but aren't you glad now that they didn't?*

*Yes but that has nothing to do with my skill. Now eat your breakfast and we'll see what our new accommodations are like.* Sara felt Gaito's presence in her mind withdraw and shook her head. He was always like that when he was losing an argument.

The door slid open and Miyako came in followed by a nurse with her breakfast. It was the usual hospital fare but Sara was just glad to have food in her stomach. It had been rather vehement with its complaints during the past few minutes. She finished the meal in record time and Miyako helped her back into the torn dress she'd worn the previous night.

"We'll get you some new clothes when the shops open." Miyako told her "but for now this is all we've got. Bear with it for just a while okay?"

"Of course. Don't worry this will do fine for now." Sara knotted the skirt up above her ankles so it didn't trip her and went with Miyako to check out. Gaito and Takashi were already waiting for them at the exit so they all piled into Takashi's car and he drove to his house.

Both Sara and Gaito were impressed with the house and their room. Everything was well made and the décor was stylish and tasteful. They didn't get time to see much more though as Miyako immediately took them shopping for clothes and necessities despite Sara's protests about repayment.

"Don't worry." Was her comment on that, "Takashi will help you find work and you can pay us back when you can. It's not like we're short on money with him being such a great conductor and all."

Sara still felt a bit guilty and resolved to pay everything Miyako and Takashi spent back as soon as possible.

*I can get a job as a singer.* she told Gaito. *And you can help Takashi with his work or help look after Miyako.*

*Stop worrying.* he replied firmly. *Aqua Regina told us to enjoy our new lives. I refuse to spend our first hours worrying about money. Besides I told Takashi about our musical skills and he says that the bar he works as a bouncer for needs some new acts. We'll apply there first and see how we go. If we don't get in there are plenty of other places where we can earn a lot of money. We're good enough to pull in a decent amount of money. It's as simple as that. Now go pick something nice to wear. I want to see some sexy lingerie in those bags too when you're done. I am a healthy male after all.*

Before Sara could make a scathing retort he and Takashi departed for the men's stores while Miyako grabbed her arm and towed her over to their first store for the day- which just so happened to be an underwear shop.

It took several days for Sara to find a job but after an introduction from Takashi and a small preview of her skills she was immediately hired singing at a popular bar during the evenings. Gaito played the piano and sometimes and for a change of pace and helped behind the bar the rest of the time. His good looks attracted more than a bit of attention and in less than a week together they'd attracted more customers than the previous entertainers ever had. With the voice of a mermaid princess Sara would have been disappointed with anything less, even if she _had_ left her pearl to the future Orange Pearl Princess.

Time passed quickly and it wasn't long before they'd paid Takashi back and were saving for their return to Japan. It was a wonderful time for Sara and Gaito. I time where they could be together with nothing to come between them or spoil their happiness. They went for walks, had romantic dinners for two, Sara sang for him whenever he asked and he played the most beautiful songs for her on Takashi's piano. The only things that dampened her joy were the almost nightly visits she paid to Lucia in her dreams. Sara felt so sorry for the poor girl, Kaito was being even denser than usual and Lucia was getting more and more desperate for him to figure out the truth. She was able to cheer her up most of the time and caution against some of her wilder plans but things were going to come to a head very soon and Sara was getting more and more worried that Lucia would do something drastic. Gaito comforted her and did his best to give Kaito hints from his end but they both knew it would be easier to help if they were actually near the two. With that in mind they worked even harder to save money for their return.

Unaware of their more magical aspects Miyako was in transports of joy having at having a woman friend who understood all things girl. It was hard sometimes having an older brother who had no idea how to deal with these things. Sara was the big sister she'd been wanting and to have her romantically involved with the handsome Gaito was nothing short of a romance novel come to life. She had so much fun watching the pair and dreaming of finding someone who could be like that with her. It became almost an unhealthy obsession but Sara, Gaito and Takashi did their best to curb it and keep her dreams at least partially realistic.

After six months of living with Miyako and Takashi, Sara and Gaito had saved enough to fly over to Japan. They waited another three months to make sure they had enough to live by until they found jobs and a place to live but soon it was time for them to leave. Sara had been dreaming of Lucia often, visiting her in her sleep to see how she and her Orange Pearl successor were doing.

Miyako was distraught at the thought of them leaving but Sara promised to visit often and they exchanged email addresses and phone numbers. Just before they boarded the plane at the airport Sara pulled Miyako close and whispered in her ear. "Somewhere out there is a boy who will make you as happy as Gaito has made me. When you meet him and you've decided he's the one, I want you to call me and let me have a look at him okay? If he's not good enough I'll send him away because that's what a big sister is for. And if you ever need anything just call and I'll be right there. We're only a phone call or an email away. But. You also have to live your own life Miyako and you can't do that if you're all wrapped up with Gaito and me." She giggled, "Just imagine a boy trying to measure up to Gaito hm? Or even Takashi?"

Miyako gave her a watery grin. "That could never happen, no one is as cool as Gaito and my brother."

Sara smiled back. "Well you might just have to settle for a bit less than them. But trust me Miyako, one day it'll happen. So just be patient and keep an eye out. I waited almost 20 years for Gaito so you can wait for a few more years too can't you?"

Miyako nodded. "Good girl. Now here's something just for you. I had one until I came here and left it for someone else who needed it. But every beautiful girl needs to have one of these and I think it's high time you got yours. Hold out your hand." She ordered.

Miyako obediently held hers out and Sara dropped a small velvet bag into her hand. Miyako looked enquiringly at Sara who nodded before she opened it and then gasped with delight. Inside the bag was a perfect black pearl the size of a small marble, almost exactly like the one every mermaid was born with. Sara smiled and gave her another small bag. This one held a beautiful locket that she could keep her pearl in. Miyako started crying all over again as Sara helped her put the pearl in the locket and fasten it around her neck. She hugged her fiercely as the last call for the plane came over the speakers and then wiped away her tears to give her adopted sister a genuine smile as she took Gaito's arm and they walked away, not to be seen again by their friends in Hawaii until the events with Michal had occurred and been dealt with.

"I hope she'll be alright." Sara said to Gaito as they boarded the plane.

Gaito squeezed her hand comfortingly. "I'm sure Takashi will watch over her for us. He said he'd give us monthly updates on their doings and I'm sure you and Miyako will be emailing back and forth like there's no tomorrow."

Sara smiled. "You're right. I shouldn't worry. What we need to be thinking about now is making sure Lucia and Kaito are sorted out, then we can worry about the other two.

Gaito hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. "You have such a big heart, dear one." He caressed her shoulder before turning her head up to face him. "But remember, I'm a selfish man and I'll only let you give a small part of it away. The rest is mine."

Sara looked into his eyes and saw the love that burned there just for her. It made her heart skip a beat to know how much Gaito loved her and she thanked Aqua Regina silently in her mind for giving them another chance to be together. As the captain announced they were beginning their take off she leant forward and kissed her prince as he gazed at her with his beautiful silver eyes before sliding back into her seat and fastening her seatbelt.

She'd found her prince and now it was time to help Lucia find hers.

It took them only two weeks to find an apartment near the Pearl Piari. Before they'd left Takashi had given then the number of an associate of his who worked in housing and he was very happy to help them. He'd had also given the name of a musician friend of his who would help them find jobs once they got to Japan. It was all very exciting and Sara soon found herself auditioning for a job in a production company. She was hired within minutes of opening her mouth to sing and Gaito chuckled in her mind at her surprise. *Of course they'd hire you lover. Who wouldn't? You're gorgeous, you can sing, you can act and best of all your young and in love. What more could they want?*

Sara blushed. *I know. I just didn't expect them to say yes right away.*

*well maybe Aqua Regina's meddling with them. Who knows? You got the job and that's all that matters.*

*You're right. Why don't we see if we can spot our young lovebirds after the meeting. It's about time they made some serious progress and now that we're here there's no better time.*

*Yes, I can't believe how stupid Kaito is being. Something has to be done.*

With that Sara concluded her conversation with her new boss and they headed out into town to see if they could spot their two charges.

Above them, Aquq Regina smiled at their happiness, content to watch over all her charges from afar.


	2. A Helping Hand

**Hey guys, here it is, what you've all been waiting for the continuation of my MM fic! Waits for applause…..ahem moving along. **

**Disclaimer: Never owned anything to do with MM and never will, mores the pity.**

_The rainbow wind blows at a far off coast.  
>Before dawn, there was a melody I heard.<br>It's a very nostalgic song._

Sara heard Lucia's mournful voice and her heart went out the young mermaid. What would she have done if she and Gaito had been in the same situation? Tears of sympathy formed in her eyes, as she saw Lucia start crying, holding the ring Kaito had given her as if it was a lifeline holding her to the earth. Impatiently she scrubbed her tears away but Sara knew her heart was slowly breaking as time passed and her love remained as oblivious as ever.

Her dream self immediately went to the poor girl, appearing before her as she looked out the window towards the sea. *Don't worry Lucia, he will realise soon enough.* She told her, holding out her arms to embrace her charge she began to sing softly.

_On a bed of ripples, on the morning you woke up  
>Everything ended and began again.<br>Engulfed in the warm, quiet light  
>my hopes matured, and returned to the sea.<br>The bell of happiness rings out as the seven seas shine forth.  
>A miracle of love that it causes is what I love most.<em>

*Be strong Lucia.* She said as the girl stopped crying and gave her a watery smile. *Kaito will realise the truth soon, deep inside he is already starting to put the pieces together. Give him a bit more time.* Inside she was silently seething at the boy who was putting his beloved through such grief, she resolved to have another talk with Gaito about changing that as soon as possible. Turning her mind back to the mermaid princess before her she smiled back and spoke more words of encouragement before wiping away her last tears and then returning to herself where she slept in the home she shared with Gaito.

Waking up she saw that he too had returned from his night time excursion to pursue his end of things with Kaito.

"Any progress?" she asked him. As he sat up in bed a half amused half angered expression on his face.

"Ugh, Sara I can't believe I'm related to the thickhead. He's not even close to figuring it out. I'm going to have to take drastic measures –hey now what's this?" Leaning over he touched her face. "Darling, has Lucia been making you cry again?"

Sara touched her face and felt tears still wet on her cheeks. "Oh drat, sorry Gaito." She wiped them away, "it's just when I see how miserable poor Lucia is my heart just goes out to her. I didn't mean to make you worry."

Gaito pulled her close, holding her tightly to him as he tucked her head underneath his chin. "Sara of course I worry about you. It's my job to do that because I love you and anything that makes you unhappy makes me unhappy." He squeezed her once for emphasis. "We spent far too much time miserable together to waste it now still being miserable. I promise that I will make that dunderhead realise who Lucia is as soon as humanely possible. It's time to bring out the big guns as they say. I will use my most unsubtle plan since the less obvious ones haven't been working. What do you think?"

Sara giggled. "Just don't hurt his mind while you do it dear. I'd hate to have poor Lucia end up with a drooling idiot after all this."

"What you mean he isn't one?" Gaito gasped in mock surprise. "I never knew."

Sara laughed outright at that. "Oh you're such a horrible brother." She said between laughs.

"Well I am older than him, it's my right to bully him a little." Gaito lay back down and manoeuvred her so she was curled against his chest. "And now that I've got you all happy again, it's time to go to sleep and have sweeter dreams. Remember you've got that audition tomorrow."

"Yes dear." Sara snuggled in closer to her love and drifted off into a much happier sleep, content in the knowledge that all would soon be right in the world for at least one more couple.

Several days later Gaito visited his little brother in spirit form once more, laying the final pieces of his plan. Kaito was currently punching his pillow in frustration obviously still trying to figure out what the other two mermaids had told him earlier in the day. That had been brought on by Sara's prompting of Rina and Hanon who had been brought in on the plan and were eager contributors to the scheme.

*You know for being a son of the Panthalassa Clan _and_ my twin you can be extremely dense.* Gaito told his brother as he appeared next to his bed, leaning casually against the wall.

Kaito groaned. "Go away,I don't need this right now." He complained.

Gaito was supremely indifferent to his suffering and carried straight on *For all the hints you've been getting I would have thought even _you_ would have figured things out by now. It really is quite disappointing you know.*

"Did you come here for any particular reason or just to insult and annoy me?"

Gaito considered baiting him a bit more but the memory of Sara's distress was more than enough to get him to cut to the chase. *As wonderfully amusing as it would be to watch you continue to fumble your way through life and still not get things right, I'm afraid that your lack of action in one particular matter has been causing Sara quite a bit of grief and that I will _not_ tolerate, especially when it's caused by you.*

"And what particular matter would that be?"

Kaito was obviously too tired and angry to be diplomatic so Gaito decided to be forgiving for once. Maybe Sara was being too much of a good influence on him. He really was being far too nice to people lately.

*Why the matter of the true identity of the mermaid who saved you when you were little, and quite a few more times since* he paused, *Have I caught your interest?* Inside he was mentally shouting _Come on little brother take the bait!_ Thankfully he did, asking the very questions Gaito wanted him to.

After dropping some not so subtle hints about his superiority and practically ordering Kaito to visit Pearl Piari the next day he left with the equally unsubtle parting shot *I'll ask you this as well brother, why do both of the girls in your life wear the same necklace?*.

With that he returned to himself and Sara's warm and inviting embrace to wait for the next day's events and their results. Which were not long in coming.

The next day they both woke up late, and lazed around for a good long while afterwards because it was the weekend and they deserved it. Plus the fireworks wouldn't be starting till late in the afternoon anyway so why not enjoy the time they had to themselves. Finally Sara got up and made coffee while Gaito dragged himself out of bed to make brunch. A text from Rina alerted them to the start of the final stage of their plan and both of them hurried back to bed and sent out their spirits to watch over their charges.

Sara went to Lucia and the girls, making sure they were in the right place at the right time and Gaito did the same for Kaito though neither was actually required to interfere, everything was right on schedule. Gaito had the most enjoyable job of the two of them, he got to see Kaito's expression when everything clicked and from what he described to Sara later it was priceless.

He said as much to Kaito, much to his annoyance.

After leaving the girls alone to shop, both Sara and Gaito watched over Kaito for the rest of the day until finally he reached the stage where he had accepted the truth and was now struggling with how to deal with it and break the news to Lucia.

As the moon rose Gaito skilfully manipulated him into taking a moonlit walk on the beach, and Sara whisked off to wake Lucia and send her in his direction.

It was a magical moment when the two met, Gaito and Sara kept their distance from the pair and watched for only a moment to make sure things were alright before giving the love struck pair their privacy.

As they returned to themselves they traded tender smiles before Sara leaned over and kissed Gaito on the cheek. "You are a good brother, even if you refuse to admit it and don't act like it half the time." She said fondly.

Gaito smiled his handsome smile before dropping a kiss on her hand and pulling her close. "Tell anyone and I'll lock you up forever." He threatened.

"No you wouldn't, you love me too much."

Gaito sighed. "Damn your right, I'll have to think up a suitably horrible punishment later. For now though, I'll just have to keep you close to me so I can stop you if you ever try to tell."

Sara smiled, "That sounds perfect. Do that forever and I might just keep my mouth shut."

"I _would_ have to be saddled with the most demanding woman ever born wouldn't I?" Gaito mock complained. "I guess this is the universes way of punishing m –Ow!" he caught Sara's fingers before she could pinch him again.

"And the most vicious." He continued but then relented "but also the most beautiful, kind, caring and lovin–" Sara turned and kissed him before tucking her head under his chin again.

"I love you." She said simply and then closed her eyes, completely safe and happy in his arms, knowing that he'd be there for her no matter what. As she would be for him.

Gaito brought up a hand to stroke her hair softly, feeling its silky softness against his fingers.

"I love you too." He said quietly before pulling up the blanket to cover them both and falling asleep.

And so ends the second chapter of Sara and Gaito's story. Sorry if the ending seemed abrupt but I just couldn't figure out where or how to end this chapter, nothing seemed right so here's the 'best fit'. Suggestions on improvements are welcome.


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